Robert Taliercio O’Brien, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, has urged farmers impacted by this year’s drought in northern Ghana to remain resilient.
During a tour of the Upper East Region to inspect sites under the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), he highlighted the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s food systems against climate-related agricultural challenges.
Addressing farmers and media, O’Brien acknowledged the difficulties faced by farmers but praised their unwavering determination to push forward.
He assured them of the World Bank’s ongoing support, emphasizing the organization’s commitment to strengthening Ghana’s agricultural value chains to build resilience against natural disasters.
The World Bank director was particularly pleased to observe that communities benefiting from World Bank-funded irrigation projects were spared from the worst effects of the drought, allowing them to continue dry-season farming.
During the visit, O’Brien inspected various facilities, including the Tono Irrigation Scheme’s dam wall, reservoir, spillway, and solar-powered systems.
The Tono Irrigation Scheme is one of four large public irrigation systems rehabilitated through the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), funded by the World Bank and the Government of Ghana.
The FSRP seeks to build on GCAP’s achievements, with plans to complete work on the Vea and Tono Irrigation Schemes, alongside initiatives to support farmers with input credit and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies.
Ms. Ashwini Sebastian, Senior Agricultural Economist at World Bank Ghana, emphasized that irrigation alone is not enough to ensure food security.
The World Bank’s approach integrates climate-smart seeds, innovative farming methods, and value-addition interventions to achieve higher quality and yields in food production.
Osei Owusu-Agyeman, FSRP Project Coordinator, revealed that the program would sponsor a new national irrigation policy to redefine the future of irrigation in the face of climate variability.
FSRP is a regional initiative aimed at strengthening agricultural systems across West Africa, including Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.
The World Bank reassured farmers that it would continue providing both financial and on-the-ground support until its objective of achieving credible food security is realized.
